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Very Bad Cough! :(

Hi!

I keep having the most dreadful strep. throats and a few days ago, my throat became extremely raw. I also developed a dry, painful cough; chest pains; a fever; shaking chills; a TERRIBLE headache; very bad earaches; sore eyes; excessive urination and muscle aches.

I went to see a G.P. on Wednesday and was given an antibiotic, as I was told that I had an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, as well as a Kidney Infection (AGAIN! :x). I had blood in my urine as well (although this was not visible to the eye).

However, my chest just seems to be getting worse! I have quite bad Asthma and I am very worried... I have used my Ventolin SO many times today; much more than I should be using it, which I know is very bad, but I'm desperate! :cry: I also use Inflammide (Cortisone Inhaler) twice a day, but I would NEVER increase that without my doctor's permission. My cough is SO bad that everyone in my grade (I am sixteen and in Grade Eleven) was becoming really worried. My Ventolin only helps for a very short period and then I need to use it again (it is supposed to last for at least three hours!). I have a Tachycardia and my Ventolin drives my heart CRAZY, but I have no choice but to use it! :cry: My Asthma is TOTALLY out of control and I know that I probably need to be on a Nebuliser, but I don't have one at home (even though my doctors keep insisting that I get one, but they are SO expensive here! ) and I don't know what to do! My chest is really tight and sore and I am finding it difficult to breathe. My heartbeat has been going a bit irregular at times throughout the day (although that's probably due to the Ventolin) and I am having multiple problems with my nerves. I have Epilepsy and my new medication (Epilim - Depakene in the U.S.A. and Convulex in the U.K.) had my seizures 100% under control, but yesterday, I had a tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure (although we are having an EXTREME heat wave here with temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius/107.6 degrees Fahrenheit, so we thought that it was probably due to that) and today, I started having these very strange seizures where I felt as if someone had chucked something at my chest and I kept getting flung against the walls or against the back of my chair; my hands would go up like a Mexican wave and after hitting the wall for the third time in a row, the force was so strong that I collapsed down the wall! :cry:

I don't particularly want to go to Casualty (E.R.) because they will probably want to admit me to Hospital and I have already been hospitalised three times in the last three months! :cry:

I am using my Ventolin; taking my Inflammide as normal; taking my antibiotics exactly as I have been told; taking cough syrup; rubbing Vicks VapoRub (I'm not sure if you have this in the U.S.A. or the U.K.?) on my chest, throat and back; inhaling over steam with Friar's Balsam, etc.

My mother bought me a Nebuliser this morning, which I used about an hour or so ago and although it definitely did help with the tightness in my chest, my cough is still very bad.

Now, though, I have developed a very stiff neck, I feel nauseous, my abdomen is sore, my eyes are even more photosensitive than usual, my headache is severe and I have lost my appetite. Tomorrow is the last day of my antibiotic, so why am I still sick? My chest is still paining like crazy, my left wrist is unbelievably swollen (:?: :?) and I need to go to School tomorrow! I haven't even been able to do my homework and I have a lot! Instead of getting better, my chest just seems to be getting worse and my doctor doesn't work on a Sunday. :cry: I also seem to be breathing much more quickly than I usually do and I don't know why? I constantly feel out of breath and my heart rate is so fast that I feel as if I have run a marathon!

Does anyone have any idea what could be going on here or what I could do to help improve my symptoms?

Sweetie, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you need to go to the casualty department of your hospital IMMEDIATELY! I cannot stress this enough - I know you don't want to go but you must. A stiff neck, headache and photosensitivity can all be signs of a very serious infection which can be life-threatening if not treated, so you MUST have this ruled out by your doctors. Please go now - this cannot wait - you CANNOT deal with this at home!!!

No worries! I do not have Meningitis! THANK GOD! However, both Meningitis and Pneumonia are going around, so we are just being cautious.

I do have a very serious Bronchitis, or possibly Pleurisy, so my doctor has given me a different antibiotic (Klacid - Clarithromycin), 30mg of Prednisone per day for three days and some Combivent to put into my Nebuliser.

He told me that my chest should improve within forty-eight hours. If not, I must go back and see him as soon as possible.

He has booked me off from school for at least two days.

I am going to see my Rheumatologist on Wednesday 7th February, which is probably just as well because my little toe on my right foot has collapsed into the adjacent toe and the area surrounding my little toe has been swollen and red since Thursday! :? It only hurts if one presses in certain spots and I can walk on it, so it's DEFINITELY NOT broken, at least.

I am SO angry with this one girl in my grade right now! The other day, we were sitting in Afrikaans (South African language, similar to Dutch) and the temperature was 42 degrees Celsius/107.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Nobody could really concentrate and most people wanted to go home, so my friend, Laura, said that she wished that someone would faint, so that maybe the school would send us home. This one girl, who doesn't like me at all because I'm apparently a "goody-goody", says: "Oh, don't worry, Laura! It will probably be you (pointing at me)!" EXCUSE ME? I have Epilepsy and blood pressure problems, so I can't help it if I pass out or become unconscious sometimes; I have no control over it! :cry: Once, when I had a particularly bad malar rash on my face, she came up to me and said: "Do you know that you have an ugly rash on your face?" Today, I went to school (I know! My doctor couldn't believe it either, but I love school!), but broke out in a million severe coughing fits and was really struggling to breathe, so I waited for my Gran to come and fetch me from school to take me to the doctor. This particular girl walks past and asks what's wrong, so I told her. She says "Shame" in this really sarcastic voice, looks at her friend, rolls her eyes and walks away saying "Typical! She's always sick!" :cry: She can see that I'm really sick, so what's her problem?! :x I really don't understand these people! Here I am, half choking to death and she just stands there making rude comments! :cry: :shock:

She once saw me having a tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure and when I "came round", she was laughing! :? :x How can watching a person stiffen and jerk possibly be funny?

I told my Paediatrician/Paediatric Cardiologist about this and he was SO angry!

Sweetheart, you are so young to have to face a fundamental truth in life: there are people (many more than I wish) who are so insecure in themselves that the only way they feel good is to put someone else down. And they love to "pick at" people who THEY percieve as "weak" because they are bullies, through and through. What WE HERE know, as well as YOU, is that YOU are NOT "weak", but much, much stronger than they could ever, ever guess. As they say, you gotta "shake those haters off." No doubt this girl has some hard, hard lessons in life to learn. You keep on keeping on! Love, Kathy

I'm very glad you went and had it checked out and that it is not meningitis - we've had several cases around here that started with fever headache and stiff neck so I was very concerned when I read your symptoms. The bronchitis is bad enough, but still better than meningitis. But you need to take your doctor's advice and rest up until you feel better. I am thrilled that you love school, but it's hard for you to enjoy it when you feel lousy, and I'm sure it worries your teachers to have you there when you obviously need to be home in bed.

As Kathy said, people like your fellow student are not worth wasting the energy to be upset by their bullying and insensitivity. Don't take their hateful behaviour personally - people like that build themselves up by putting down those around them. Just ignore her and don't let her make you angry, when she sees her behaviour doesn't affect you, she will probably stop because it won't be "fun" anymore. People like that have no power over you unless you give it to them. And you've got more important things in your life than one annoying brat! If anything you should feel sorry for her - people who are not capable of empathizing with others often find themselves leading a very lonely life. So feel free to come her and vent any time you need to, but don't let her get under your skin.

Thank you SO much for all of your support and encouragement! I don't know what I would do without you! Finding this Forum was the best thing I ever did!

Thank you for listening to my endless rambling, moaning and complaining and for taking the time to answer all of my questions in such amazing detail! I am honestly more grateful than I could ever put into words!

That makes me just furious! What a shallow and self-centered girl she must be. She doesn't realize what an opportunity she's missing by not getting to know someone who is as strong and determined as you are. It's her loss, you know. I hope there are girls in your school who can see beyond your medical problems to the person inside. If there aren't, you know you can always come to us for support!

"If you trust Google more than you trust your doctor than maybe it's time to switch doctors."

Luckily, I have some really good friends. Although my best friend is 100% healthy, she understands my illness better than almost anyone I know! She ALWAYS comes to visit me in Hospital, even though it's not very close to where she lives! Her friendship means everything to me and she always phones me and SMSes me to see how I am when I am absent from school and even though she is one grade above me, she still tries her very best to get hold of my teachers and collect my work for me.

Another one of my friends had both a liver and a kidney transplant when she was eleven (she is now seventeen) and also has Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (an autoimmune blood disease), so she understands EXACTLY what it's like to be sick so often.

My other very close friend is the best seizure first-aider EVER! She is BRILLIANT at knowing what to do when I have a seizure. She times it, records what happens, puts her jersey under my head and turns me on my side so that I don't choke if I "bring up". Before I saw my Neurologist for the first time (we had to wait because he was fully booked up), my friend used to ask for permission to sit with me when I experienced an aura (warning) and knew that I would have a seizure. She has a learning problem, but was prepared to miss important classes because she was so worried about me! :cry: It just meant SO much to me!

Although it has improved, my chest is still pretty bad, so my Paediatrician/Paediatric Cardiologist is sending me for a Chest X-Ray this afternoon. I will let you know how it goes...

I spent the entire night "bringing up" (Possibly phlegm, but it was dark, so I couldn't really see) and now, I have Diarrhea! Great! :x Plus, I have lost my appetite, so there go my electrolyte levels! I am just drinking as much juice, water and 'Rehidrat' as I can!

I cannot believe that I have had trouble breathing for eight days now! :x I am a little bit worried because last night, I broke out in this really strange rash. The bumps were raised, smallish and red/pink. It's not an allergic reaction because I am on anti-histamines (and have been since I was six years old) and the rash is not itchy enough, anyway. It looks absolutely nothing like my Contact Dermatitis or my Eczema and does not look like Urticaria either. I am 100% immune to Rubella (German Measles) -I had my blood tested, so I am most likely 100% immune to Measles too (besides, the rash looks nothing like Measles - the spots are too big). I have already had Chickenpox and this rash looks nothing like Shingles. It doesn't look anything like Scarlet Fever, either! :?

What on Earth could it be? It didn't start like a viral rash usually does, though and that's what's so strange! It started on my left thigh, then my left arm, then my right foot, then my chest, then my buttocks (sorry! ops and then my abdomen. However, this morning, the rash is gone! :? :?: It made me very sick though; I "brought up" twelve times last night, after the rash appeared!

I just don't know what is going on?! Whoever heard of Bronchitis causing a rash? because I certainly haven't! :? :?: My glands are very swollen though, so I am wondering: perhaps Glandular Fever (Mononucleosis or 'Mono' in the U.S.A.) because I know that that can cause strange rashes, as they thought that I had it once before when I broke out in a strange rash (although it turned out that I didn't have Glandular Fever nor Cytomegalovirus and they still don't know what I had! Seriously, my Paediatrician/Paediatric Cardiologist took pictures of the rash to show the Dermatologist and even she didn't know what it was! :? She wanted to biopsy it when I got it again, but since we discovered the Celiac Disease and cut gluten completely out of my diet, I have never had the rash again and Celiac Disease is also known to cause strange rashes). Besides, this rash was definitely not exactly the same as the other one, I don't even think that it was similar, so I doubt that this was caused by gluten, especially since I haven't eaten any for three months! :?